THE EDITOR, Sir:
I FEEL so obliged to write this letter with regards to the police killing of our taxi-men over the weekend of October 25, 2003 in St. Catherine and St. James. I must offer a few suggestions to the Minister of National Security and the other stakeholders responsible for protecting our citizens and our country.
Firstly, with regards to the training programmes of our police officers, I think that this six months in training seems like a 'crash course'. How can they acquire all the interpersonal skills needed to deal with the general public in that short time? Teachers, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals have to spend not less than three years in order to fully become a professional in their chosen field of study. Training period of our policemen needs to be much longer, say about one to one and a half years.
Secondly, why can't these police officers, before graduation, be sent to various police stations across the island at least three weeks or a month as to gain their experience in administration, community relations, so that that upon completion of their training they would have at least a better understanding of how to deal with the general public.
Not to say extended training would prevent them from making irrational decisions but this is something that I think we should consider as a nation.
I am, etc.,
R. ROBERTSON
elron13@yahoo.com
Via Go-Jamaica
